Plot: Sriram Venkat is the most shallow guy on earth who doesn’t value relationships, family, friends, life or the country. Not necessarily in that order. Because he couldn’t care less about the order. This makes him the clear ‘black’ sheep of the family. At some point this shallow man begins to narrate the story of the crazy relationship he shared with Dia Sharma. His ex girlfriend. A firebrand social activist who wanted to change the world. An attraction which was physical initially but then got emotional and finally veered into complex territories resulting in a clash of ideologies and mindsets which drove them apart. Bitterly. Sriram believed that charity begins and ends at home. Whilst Dia felt that you have to be the change that you want to bring about. However Sriram realizes that he is not over Dia and still loves her and that she is the best change that ever happened… and will happen to his life. But Dia has moved on and is now in an obscure village in Gujarat called Jhumli.

The plot of Gori Tere Pyaar Mein is ridiculous even for a romantic comedy. This is something I felt during the first half of the film. After the se...
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The plot of Gori Tere Pyaar Mein is ridiculous even for a romantic comedy. This is something I felt during the first half of the film. After the second half, there is nothing left to call ridiculous or even a romantic comedy. I have enjoyed Dharma’s romantic comedies in the past, especially Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012) and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013). I was even amused by Punit Malhotra’s first film – I Hate Luv Storys (2010). I admire both Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan. The genre, the actors, the songs, the production value - everything is in place, in fact it is so much in place that there is nothing left for a script.

The first half of the film is fun and entertaining. There are many moments, which don’t make sense, and the script seems to have been given no attention but there is something likable about it. It is goofy and the actors have good chemistry. Imran and Kareena look great together (again), but I was more interested in Imran and Shraddha Kapoor’s sub-plot. I won’t go into it because it contains spoilers. I hope they are cast in a film together and with a good director.

If there is any actress today who knows how to be a Bollywood actress, it is Kareena Kapoor. I love watching her make average scenes look interesting. She can overact and make it look like she could do it on command. This kind of praise is meant for another review of a better film but in a film like this one you realize its importance. I think they were trying to make her into a memorable character like Geet from Jab We Met (2007) but didn’t go the distance. She plays an “NGO types” and pretty much nails it.

Imran Khan is an actor who I admire for reasons which could easily be taken for why he isn’t considered a good actor. I don’t exactly think he can act well but there are few actors in our industry who can do deadpan humor well. In romantic comedies like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008) and Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, you can see how he fits the characters like a glove and gives humor to situations which would fall flat otherwise. It is also extremely difficult to do “regular guy” roles. Every actor wants to be a star these days and make his presence felt. It is continually refreshing to see an actor who isn’t trying too hard and just exists on screen. You feel like you know him or could even be his friend. To me, that is not something as casual as it seems. In this film, he plays a rich brat and does not make it look stereotypical.

The music of the film is enjoyable. I love Dhat Teri Ki and Tooh. There is slapstick song set in a village called Moto Ghotalo which is amusingly choreographed with the villagers in the background getting their groove on. This is where I was confused as to what the film was aiming for. The tone is inconsistent. Sometimes, it wants to be silly and sometimes goes overboard with its filmyness. Other times, the humor is completely different ranging from dry to dumb.

The producer, Karan Johar, had calculated a modest hit on paper. Just like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, we have the same producer, good music and a typical template for a romantic comedy. There were claims that Ayan Mukerji was not the reason why that film clicked but Karan Johar managed to salvage it. This is where you can clearly see how wrong that would be. Sure, a producer tinkers with a film but a director shoots it with a certain intention. The core of that film was always in place. If Karan Johar had a magic wand, he could have waved it all over this one (Do not look for puns there).

This film is a case of a directing miscalculation. The screenplay takes a nose dive after a point but a director can make it watchable if he recognizes the pulse of it. When you have an insipid situation after another, you especially don’t make it “look” completely absurd. The story of two rich kids going to live in a village is great but this is what they do there? This? I don’t want to see them go all Swades (2004) on us but at least don’t make it look like a joke. Again, the tone is erratic. Sometimes it becomes farcical and then it goes for the dramatic. Punit Malhotra is clearly too excited with the material and tries to do everything with it.

It’s like a chewing gum. It is pointless apart from killing bad breath. It’s a harmless distraction and after a while you throw it away. There are three options, though. You can either gulp it down, which is advised against. Or you can throw it away, which would be smart. The third is to step on it. It gets stuck to your shoes and then it doesn’t come off. Something harmless becomes obnoxious and stupid. A song about chabaoing chingam is sung in the film, in case you were wondering why I’m elucidating a bizarre analogy.

Don’t expect an Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu and you might enjoy it. I wanted to, considering how much I like the two actors and romantic comedies. They should definitely do more movies. I just hope that it all falls into place.

Comments

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein is the kind of film that deserves archiving in film libraries and museums to tell the future generations the perils of making ...
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Gori Tere Pyaar Mein is the kind of film that deserves archiving in film libraries and museums to tell the future generations the perils of making a film after getting a surgery done to remove that pea sized brain god gifted you with in the first place. Puneet Malhotra muast have been smoking on baby powder when he decided to co write this pointless drivel that drags and drags making no point and offering nothing worthwhile despite having beautiful people with beautiful clothes.

Sriram is a Tam Bram from Bangalore (being from TN is so mainstream yo) who eats non veg (oh the horror) and is a Khaladabba (oh the Horrors) on his family that is curiously nothing like him either in color or the amount of oil on the head or the accent with which they fight each other. He is aimless architect from the USA (cause that is where good kids go to get aimless in life) who has the wisdon to pounce on a girl he just met at a wedding offiering to shovel is toungue into her mouth. Only the mouth he chose was that of Dia the cause-a -day big bazaar offer that gifts itself to the world of the poor and downtrodden. Both fall in louve (opposites attract yo) and then go away leaving Sriram with a carb (the literal one) and Dia with the idea to go to a gujrati village in the middle of nowhere to build a bridge. Sriram follows her after the mandatory running away from his own wedding to woo her back. Do they build the bridge? Does the village solve its problems? Does India become a rich first world country? Does Modi become the PM? Do i care?

Glossy and picture perfect sets, airports that curiously look like mumbai's despite being refered to all over the country and perfect complexions in perfect clothes abound in the KJo production of a "Rom Com that redefined the genre in Hindi Cinema". Imrans eye brows and chest hair find more promnence and acting space than he himself. Kareenas Tooh and her single grey hair bring down the economy of Jhumli, while the great north south divide is brought into national limelight since "idli sirf samaar ke saath achchi lagti hai, chole ke saath nahi". Malls are safe places for kids to play cricket in, ashrams and orphanages should be made in obvious ayurveda retreats on the outskirts of bangalore and f you are looking for an epiphany in life, wait to sit on the marriage mandap and voila! tich tich boom!

Need i say more? stay home and watch Arnab, he has more chances of saving India than Dia does in GTPM. As for Imran, well his eyeborwas would be on TV soon.

Gori Tere Piyar Me is confused in its brief whether it aims to be a movie about national integration, about once more revisiting the “India lives in its villages” spiel, or to stem the Ranbir Kapoor state of mind that is help now contaminating earnest Tamil families in Bangalore. And therefore I can’t blame Kareena for bringing to the project the same level of “preparation” and degree of “method acting” as she did to playing a journalist in Satyagraha earlier this year. Same gung-ho tipping at windmills, adopting cause-a-day, because you know that is what the poor and dispossessed are waiting for.

NGO types as a friend explains are SO easy to portray, jhola, cotton salwar, lots of kajal. So much earnestness. Yes, in Gori...their brief has increased to include a tui butt that doesnt quit. Imran Khan has been requested to sleep walk through his role, open up the saamne ke teen button and ask Mamujaan to ease up on the copyright issues for Lagaan. For Kapoor it has only been a journey to extricate herself from the adhesive powers of Fevicol to get stuck on Chewing Gum.

So a “Hey Look Ma I’m Sid, No Bunny Thapar, no most of Saif Ali Khan’s filmography” meets a rebellious Punjabi with so many causes, and after a breakup and light bulb moment that can only happen at your shaadi ka mandap, Khan’s SriRam runs away from his arranged marriage to usher in the Interval. The eight year olds in the audience by this time are standing in their seats, whooping with laughter, clapping their hands. Heartening as this is the emotional age group this film is targeting. Post-interval the Kapoor and Khan don yellow hats (considering it does seem that the only heavy reading they did was look at the cover of Bob the Builder DVDs, Kapoor’s Diya has a bookshelf with Princess Di’s biographies –so yes.). YES WE CAN! But will they? Will they build a bridge? Would the villagers push them in the river exhausted with the over meddling two? Will the standard issue pintsize precocious eight year old hold on to the pair of shades SriRam gifts him to save his peepers from the chemical factory in the neighbourhood? Do you really want to know...?